Tony Blair formally severed his links with British politics today, first resigning as Prime Minister and then as an MP, before beginning the next phase of his career as an international peace envoy to the Middle East.

Mr Blair began the final day of his premiership as Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield.

This evening he was left holding the ceremonial title of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern, a momentary office given to MPs who give up their seat, and facing the most intractable political problem on the planet.

Freed from his domestic responsibilities, Mr Blair's appointment as the special envoy of the so-called "Quartet" of major foreign powers in the Middle East was confirmed late this afternoon. A UN spokeswoman said that the EU, Russia, the US and the UN had decided to make the former Prime Minister their representative after talks in Jerusalem yesterday.

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Mr Blair advertised his willingness to accept the job in his final appearance at Prime Minister's Questions, telling MPs that the creation of a peaceful, stable Palestinian state alongside Israel was "possible to do... but it will require a huge intensity of focus and work".

“The absolute priority is to try to give effect to what is now the consensus across the international community that the only way of bringing stability and peace in the Middle East is a two state solution," he said, describing the need for an "Israel which is secure and confident in its security and a Palestinian state that is not merely viable in terms of its territory but in terms of its institutions and governance."

Although Mr Blair did not mention the envoy post by name, the Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, told Irish radio that the former Prime Minister had told him he intended to take the job last Friday, even though his predecessor in the role, John Wolfensohn, a former World Bank chairman, resigned in frustration last year.

“He thinks, and I believe he is right, that if you have hands-on, persistent engagement you can make real progress," said Mr Ahern, who worked closely with Mr Blair during his much-praised work to broker the Northern Ireland peace process and the eventual resumption of power-sharing in the province last month.

Mr Blair's appointment won a less enthusiastic reception from some Middle East analysts, who while united in their respect for his negotiating skills, suggested that the legacy of the Iraq war and his close relationship with President Bush would damage his credibility as a peacemaker among many Islamic leaders.

"I doubt he can be effective,” said Rosemary Hollis of Chatham House, the international affairs think-tank in London. “He’s perceived as so close to the Bush administration that he is not seen as impartial. I’m doubtful about whether he will make any difference in the current situation."

Likewise, Chris Doyle, director of the London-based organisation, the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), said: “He’s not a made in heaven envoy for this job. After 10 years as prime minister he has a lot of historic baggage: his involvement in Iraq, Lebanon but also his attitude and position on Israeli and Palestinian issues."

Whatever the doubts about his prospects for success, Mr Blair's new job in the Middle East will certainly take more time than his stewardship of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern.

A historic quirk in parliamentary procedure dictates that MPs are not allowed to simply resign their post, but must, under a resolution that has stood since 1623, apply for one of two "paid" offices offered by the Treasury: the Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern or the Manor of Northstead. The title is held until the next resigning MP needs it. A Treasury spokesman confirmed that both positions are no longer paid.

So it was Gordon Brown, who for a few hours at least was both Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister today, who gave Mr Blair the job that allowed his resignation to take place. The now ex-Prime Minister replaces Terry Davis, the former Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill, in his role and is very familiar with the other man holding the other MPs' departure ticket: Peter Mandelson.

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